Multi-device location monitoring system

ABSTRACT

A method and device are provided for receiving a wireless location tracking activation signal. Location monitoring in initiated based on the received wireless location tracking activation. A geographic location is periodically determined and transmitted to a remote device.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 based on U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/745.931, filed Apr. 28, 2006, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field of the Invention

Implementations described herein relate generally to mobile devices and,more particularly, to using passive near field communication (NFC) toactivate tracking of a mobile device.

2. Description of Related Art

Accurate geographic location tracking is advantageous in many commercialand emergency situations. For example, it may be extremely beneficial toenable geographic location tracking of customers or users to provide forrapid location in emergency situations. For commercial initiatives, itmay be desirable to charge or bill a user for time actually spent usinga service in a known location or for adjusting billing based on theactivity being performed. Accordingly, it would be desirable to providesimple and efficient systems for providing such trackingfunctionalities.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect, a method comprises receiving a wirelesslocation tracking activation signal; initiating location monitoringbased on the received wireless location tracking activation signal;periodically determining a geographic location; and transmitting thegeographic location to a remote device.

Additionally, the wireless location tracking activation signal istransmitted using a near field communication (NFC) protocol.

Additionally, the receiving may include receiving the wireless signalvia a passive wireless receiver.

Additionally, the initiating the location monitoring includes usingpower from the wireless location tracking activation signal to transmita signal from the passive wireless receiver to location monitoring logicfor initiating the location monitoring.

Additionally, the periodically determining a geographic location mayinclude receiving global positioning satellite signals; and calculatingthe geographic location based on the received global positioningsatellite signals.

Additionally, the periodically determining a geographic location mayinclude receiving cellular radiotelephone location signals; andcalculating the geographic location based on the received cellularradiotelephone location signals.

Additionally, the transmitting the geographic location to a remotedevice may include including the geographic location in cellularradiotelephone registration signals; and periodically transmitting thecellular radiotelephone registration signals to an antenna associatedwith a cellular service provider.

Additionally, the transmitting the geographic location to a remotedevice may include establishing a wireless connection with a wirelessaccess point via a wireless network; and

periodically transmitting the geographic location to the wireless accesspoint.

Additionally, the wireless network is an IEEE 802.11 wireless network.

Additionally, the method may include storing the geographic location ina memory; and transmitting the geographic location to the remote devicefrom the memory.

Additionally, the method may include receiving a wireless locationtracking deactivation signal; and using power from the wireless locationtracking deactivation signal to terminate the location monitoringwireless signal is associated with information identifying the firstmobile device.

According to another aspect, a mobile device includes a passive wirelesstransceiver, a geographic location device, and a wireless transceiver.The passive wireless receiver receives a first activation signal fromanother mobile device, and transmits a second activation signal usingpower from the first activation signal. The geographic location devicereceives the second activation signal, receives location monitoringsignals from remote location monitoring devices in response to receivingthe second activation signal, calculates geographic location informationbased on the received location monitoring signals, and transmits ageographic location information signal including the geographic locationinformation. The wireless transceiver receives the geographic locationinformation signal, establishes a wireless connection with a remotedevice in response to receiving the geographic location informationsignal, and transmits the geographic location information to the remotedevice via the wireless connection.

Additionally, the passive wireless transceiver receives the firstactivation signal via a near field communication (NFC) protocol.

Additionally, when transmitting the second activation signal, thepassive wireless receiver is configured to transmit the secondactivation signal via a bus.

Additionally, the mobile device includes a mobile telephone.

Additionally, when establishing a wireless connection, the wirelesstransceiver is configured to establish a cellular radiotelephonewireless connection with the other mobile device.

Additionally, when establishing a wireless connection, the wirelesstransceiver is configured to establish a wireless data connection withthe other mobile device.

According to yet another aspect, a network device comprises means forreceiving a first location tracking activation signal using a near fieldcommunication (NFC) protocol; means for transmitting a second locationtracking activation signal in response to receiving the first locationtracking activation signal, the second location tracking activationsignal causing location monitoring logic within the network device topower up; means for determining a geographic location of the networkdevice upon power up of the location monitoring logic; and means fortransmitting the determined geographic location to a remote device.

Additionally, power for transmitting the second location trackingactivation signal may be drawn from the first location trackingactivation signal

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the inventionand, together with the description, explain the invention. In thedrawings,

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary system in which systems and methodsconsistent with principles of the invention may be implemented;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary mobile device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for activating geographiclocation tracking;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for deactivatinggeographic location; and

FIG. 5 is an exemplary diagram of the processing described with respectto FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description of the invention refers to theaccompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawingsmay identify the same or similar elements. Also, the following detaileddescription does not limit the invention.

A method is described for passively activating geographic locationtracking or monitoring based on a location tracking activation signalreceived from another device.

Exemplary System

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary system 100 in which systems andmethods consistent with principles of the invention may be implemented.As illustrated in FIG. 1, system 100 may include mobile device 110-A and110-B, referred to collectively as “mobile devices 110.” The number ofmobile devices illustrated in FIG. 1 is provided for simplicity. Inpractice, a typical system may include more mobile devices thanillustrated in FIG. 1.

Mobile devices 110 may include cellular radiotelephones with or withouta multi-line display; Personal Communications System (PCS) devices thatmay combine a cellular radiotelephone with data processing, facsimileand data communications capabilities; Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)that can include a radiotelephone, pagers Internet/intranet access, Webbrowser, organizer, calendar and/or a global positioning system (GPS)receiver; laptop and/or palmtop receivers or an appliance that includesa radiotelephone transceiver; and/or other similar types of devices.Mobile devices 110 may also be referred to as “pervasive computing”devices.

In one implementation consistent with the principles of the invention,mobile devices 110 may communicate wirelessly using a number of shortdistance wireless communication protocols. For example, mobile devices110 may communicate using the near field communication (NFC) protocol,which is a short-range wireless connectivity standard that uses magneticfield induction to enable communication between devices when they aretouched together or brought within a few centimeters of each other.Mobile devices 110 may also communicate using one or more other shortdistance wireless communication protocols, such as the Bluetoothprotocol, the IEEE 802.11 protocol, etc. that may operate at longerdistances.

Exemplary Mobile Device Configuration

FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram of mobile device 110-A. It will beappreciated that mobile device 110-3B may be similarly configured. Asillustrated, mobile device 110-A may include processing logic 205, amemory 210, an input device 215, an output device 220, a power supply225, active NFC logic 230, passive NFC logic 235, location monitoringdevice 240, wireless logic 245, and antennas 250-265. It will beappreciated that mobile device 110-A may include other components (notshown) that aid in receiving, transmitting, and/or processing data.Moreover, it will be appreciated that other configurations are possible.

Processing logic 205 may include any type of processor or microprocessorthat may interpret and execute instructions. In other implementations,processing logic 205 may be implemented as or include an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array(FPGA), or the like. Memory 210 may include a random access memory (RAM)or another type of dynamic storage device that may store information andinstructions for execution by processing logic 205, a read only memory(ROM) or another type of static storage device that may store staticinformation and instructions for the processing logic 205, and/or someother type of magnetic or optical recording medium and its correspondingdrive for storing information and/or instructions.

Input device 215 may include a device that permits a user to inputinformation to mobile device 110-A, such as a keyboard, a keypad, amouse, a pen, a microphone, one or more biometric mechanisms, and thelike. Output device 220 may include a device that outputs information tothe user, such as a display, a printer, a speaker, etc. Power supply 225may include a battery, or the like, for providing power to thecomponents of mobile device 110-A.

Active NFC logic 230 may include a transmitter device capable oftransmitting data and control signals using the NFC protocol. Forexample, in one exemplary implementation, active NFC logic 230 maytransmit an activation signal to another mobile device that causes theother mobile device to activate its location monitoring logic. ActiveNFC logic 230 consumes power from power supply 225 when transmittingdata and control signals.

Passive NFC logic 235 may include a receiver device capable of receivingdata and control signals using the NFC protocol. Unlike active NFC logic230, passive NFC logic 235 does not consume power from power supply 225.Instead, passive NFC logic 235 may receive a carrier field from anothermobile device and use the power from that carrier field to activatelocation monitoring logic 240. Thus, passive NFC logic 235 does notconsume power when receiving data and control signals, but rather drawsits operating power from the electro-magnetic field provided by theother mobile device. In another implementation, passive NFC logic 235may be initially provided in a non-powered state, but may draw powerfrom power supply 225 in response to a received NFC signals. In oneimplementation consistent with the principles of the invention, passiveNFC logic 235 may transmit a location tracking activation signal tolocation monitoring logic 240 in response to receiving a locationtracking activation signal from another mobile device (or other device).Passive NFC logic 235 may transmit the location tracking activationsignal, for example, via a bus within mobile device 110-A.

In one implementation consistent with principles of the invention,location monitoring logic 240 may include a GPS receiver or otherchipset suitable for tracking or otherwise acquiring or calculating ageographic or spatial position of mobile device 110-A. In otherexemplary implementations, location monitoring logic 240 may includelogic configured to use multiple cellular radiotelephone signals tocalculate a geographic location. Location monitoring logic 240 mayinterface with processing logic 205, memory 210, and power supply 225 byway of one or more busses (not shown). Additionally, location monitoringlogic 240 may also interface with one or more antennas 250-265 toreceive one or more location-related signals.

In one specific implementation, location monitoring module 220 mayinclude a twelve-channel GPS (global positioning system) receivercapable of receiving up to twelve simultaneous GPS satellite signals viaantenna 260. As is known in the art, the GPS system is comprised of 27GPS satellites (24 active and 3 backups) each configured to orbit theearth twice each day. The positions of the satellites are such that atleast four GPS satellites are “visible” in the sky at any one time. Eachsatellite generates a radio signal include time and date, latitude,longitude, satellite identification information and ephemeris data.Ephemeris data may include information such as satellite health,position in the sky, and availability.

In order to accurately track the location of mobile device 110-A in twodimensions (e.g., no altitude or z-direction) signals from at leastthree satellites should be received, thus resulting in a known locationon the Earth's surface using a concept known as 3-D trilateration. Ingenerally, trilateration works because the speed of the satellitesignals and their respective locations are known. By accuratelysynchronizing the clocks on the mobile devices and the satellites, atime taken for the GPS receiver to “receive” a signal from eachsatellite may be used to identify the distance from the satellite to thereceiver. Once distances from at least three satellites have beendetermined, the receiver's location may be determined, since there willbe only one point on the Earth's surface that meets each of thesedistances. For more precise location identification including thereceiver's altitude, a fourth satellite signal may be required. Itshould be understood that signals from more that four satellites mayalso be received at any one moment, thereby enhancing the performance oflocation monitoring logic 240.

In one implementation consistent with principles of the invention,location monitoring logic 240 may include a local memory (not shown) forstoring satellite ephemeris or other data for a predetermined period oftime. Alternatively, location monitoring logic 240 may interconnect withmemory 210 for storage of this information.

Wireless logic 245 may include a transceiver device capable oftransmitting and receiving data and control signals using a wirelesscommunications protocol such as a cellular radiotelephone protocol(e.g., OSM (global system for mobile communications), PCS personalcommunication services), FDMA (frequency division multiple access), CDMA(code division multiple access), TDMA (time division multiple access),etc.). In additional implementations, wireless logic 245 may use shortdistance wireless communication protocols such as the Bluetoothprotocol, one or more of the ISLE 802.11 protocols, the WiMax protocol,the Ultra Wideband protocol, or any other suitable wirelesscommunication protocol.

Antennas 250-265 may include, for example, one or more directionalantennas and/or omni directional antennas.

As will be described in detail below, mobile device 110-A, consistentwith the principles of the invention, may initially establish a shortdistance wireless connection with another device, such as mobile device110-B. In response to this connection, location monitoring logic 240 ofmobile device 110-A may begin tracking or identifying the location ofmobile device 110-A. Once calculated, the location information may thenbe relayed or otherwise transmitted to mobile device 110-B or anotherremote device via wireless logic 245. Mobile device 110-A may performthese operations and other operations in response to processing logic205 executing software instructions contained in a computer-readablemedium, such as memory 210. A computer-readable medium may be defined asa physical or logical memory device and/or carrier wave.

The software instructions may be read into memory 210 from anothercomputer-readable medium or from another device via, for example, Activeand Passive NFC logic 230 and 235 or wireless logic 245. The softwareinstructions contained in memory 210 may cause processing logic 205 toperform processes that will be described later. Alternatively, hardwiredcircuitry may be used in place of or in combination with softwareinstructions to implement processes consistent with the principles ofthe invention. Thus, implementations consistent with the principles ofthe invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardwarecircuitry and software.

Exemplary Processing

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for enabling locationmonitoring via a short distance wireless connection in an implementationconsistent with the principles of the invention. It will be assumed forthis process that mobile device 110-B wants to establish a shortdistance wireless connection with mobile device 110-A. It is furtherassumed that scanning has been deactivated on mobile device 110-A. Thus,mobile device 110-A devotes no power to NFC active logic 230, NFCpassive logic 235, or wireless logic 240. Mobile device 110-A may beconsidered as operating in a low power (or nearly no power) mode.

Processing may begin with mobile device 110-B transmitting an NEClocation tracking activation signal to mobile device 110-A (act 300).Mobile device 110-B may transmit the location tracking activation signalvia NEC active logic 230. The sending of the location trackingactivation signal may be triggered by some event. For example, in oneimplementation consistent with the principles of the invention, a userof mobile device 110-B may cause mobile device 110-B to transmit thelocation tracking activation signal in response to a command from theuser (e.g., the user pressing one or more buttons on mobile device110-B). In an alternative implementation, mobile device 110-B maytransmit the location tracking activation signal without the user'sinput (e.g., in response to a program running on mobile device 110-B).In one exemplary implementation, mobile device 110-B may transmitinformation identifying a particular device to which mobile device 110-Bdesires to establish a connection as part of or in addition to theactivation signal.

For the purposes of this embodiment, it should be assumed that mobiledevice 110-A is in close proximity to mobile device 110-B. Mobile device110-A may receive the location tracking activation signal from mobiledevice 110-B (act 310) via, for example, passive NFC logic 235. PassiveNFC logic 235 may draw power from the location tracking activationsignal to transmit a location tracking activation signal (which may bethe same as or different from the location tracking activation signalreceived by passive NFC logic 235) to location monitoring logic 240 (act320). By using passive NFC logic 235, a user of mobile device 110-A isnot required to actively enable reception of the location trackingactivation signal, although this explicit command may be incorporatedinto mobile device 110-A, if desired. Mobile device 110-A may transmitthe location tracking activation signal to location monitoring logic 240via a bus within mobile device 110-A. In another implementationconsistent with principles of the invention, passive NFC logic 235 maytransmit the location tracking activation signal to location monitoringlogic 240 by way of one or more busses and through processing logic 205,where it may be modified or supplemented with additional information.

When received by location monitoring logic 240, the location trackingactivation signal may cause location monitoring logic 240 to initiateacquisition of location monitoring signals from via one or more ofantennas 255-265 (act 325). It is then determined whether at least threelocation monitoring signals have been properly acquired (act 330). Ifnot, the process returns to act 325 for continued signal acquisition.However, if at least three location monitoring signals have beenproperly acquired, location monitoring logic 240 may begin calculatingthe geographic location of mobile device 110-A based on the receivedlocation monitoring signals (act 335). Once location monitoring has beenactivated, calculated location information may be transmitted to memory210 (act 340).

In an alternative implementation consistent with principles of theinvention, receipt of the location tracking activation signal does notinitiate location monitoring signal acquisition, but instead initiatescalculation and storage of location information based on the locationmonitoring signals.

In one exemplary embodiment, the calculated location information mayinclude latitude, longitude, time, and date, although additionalinformation may also be generated by location monitoring logic 245.Location monitoring logic 240 may calculate and store locationinformation at a predetermined interval. One exemplary interval isapproximately 5 times per second, although less frequent calculationsmay be performed to reduce memory consumption and processing resourcesof location monitoring logic 240.

Once generated by location monitoring logic 240 and stored in memory210, the calculated location information may be transmitted to wirelesslogic 245 for inclusion in wireless signals transmitted by devicewireless logic 245 (act 345). In accordance with one exemplaryimplementation, status signals transmitted between wireless logic 245and a cellular radiotelephone provider may include the calculatedlocation information, thereby enabling the cellular provider to identifyand track the location of mobile device 110-A. These status signals maybe transmitted periodically by mobile device 110-A, or alternatively,may be periodically requested by the cellular provider via wirelesslogic 245. In another implementation consistent with principles of theinvention, wireless logic 245 may, either autonomously, or upon request,transmit the location information to a wireless base station or othersimilar device associated with the wireless communications protocolbeing implemented. For example, a location logging device may beassociated with a network of 802.11 (g) wireless access points. Uponrequest of the location logging device, the wireless access points maytransmit requests for location information to mobile device 110-A. Inresponse, mobile device 110-A may reply with the stored locationinformation.

By enabling efficient and on-demand location monitoring of user mobiledevices 110-A, systems and methods consistent with principles of theinvention may enable more accurate billing systems and may enhancesafety responsiveness for certain activities. In one implementation,systems and methods consistent with the invention may be implementedwithin a pay-per-use environment, such as snow skiing, amusement parkattendance, park or museum attendance, etc. In such environments,accurate knowledge of where a user is and for how long they remain ineach location may be used to accurately charge the user for appropriateusage.

Upon cessation of the location tracking activity, location tracking maybe similarly deactivated in mobile device 110-A. FIG. 4 is a flowchartof an exemplary process for disabling location monitoring via a shortdistance wireless connection in an implementation consistent with theprinciples of the invention.

Processing may begin with mobile device 110-B (or other NFC capabledevice 110) transmitting an NFC location tracking deactivation signal tomobile device 110-A (act 400). Mobile device 110-B may transmit thelocation tracking deactivation signal via NFC active logic 230.

Mobile device 110-A may receive the location tracking deactivationsignal from mobile device 110-B (act 410) via, for example, passive NFClogic 235. As with location tracking activation process described above,passive NYC logic 235 may draw power from the location trackingdeactivation signal to transmit a location tracking deactivation signal(which may be the same as or different from the location trackingdeactivation signal received by passive NFC logic 235) to locationmonitoring logic 240 (act 420). By using passive NFC logic 235, a userof mobile device 110-A is not required to actively enable reception ofthe location tracking deactivation signal.

When received by location monitoring logic 240, the location trackingdeactivation signal may cause location monitoring logic 240 to disableor cease acquisition of location monitoring signals from via one or moreof antennas 255-265 (act 425). Alternatively, the location trackingdeactivation signal may cause location monitoring logic 240 to disableor cease calculation of location information based on the receivedsignals. In yet another implementation, reception of the locationtracking deactivation signal may cause location monitoring logic 240 todisable or cease transmission of calculated location information viawireless logic 245.

EXAMPLE

The following example illustrates the above processing. FIG. 5 is anexemplary diagram of one illustrative example of the processingdescribed with respect to FIGS. 3 and 4. For the present example, assumethat mobile device 110-B is associated with an activity manager 500(e.g., a ski resort operator). Further assume that mobile device 110-Bwants to enable location tracking for mobile device 110-A, so that thelocation of mobile device 110-A is subsequently transmitted to activitymanager 500. The processing of FIG. 5 may begin with mobile device110-1B transmitting a location tracking activation signal (signal 1),via active NFC logic 230-B, to mobile device 110-A. As described above,prior to receiving the activation signal mobile device 110-A may operatein a low power (or nearly no power) mode. In this mode, scanning may bedeactivated in mobile device 110-A and no power may be devoted to activeNFC logic 230-A, passive NFC logic 235-A (which does not require power),location monitoring logic 240-A, and wireless logic 245-A.

Mobile device 110-A may receive the location tracking activation signalvia passive NFC logic 235-A. Passive NFC logic 235-A may draw power fromthe location tracking activation signal to wake up location monitoringlogic 240-A (signal 2). In the present example, location monitoringlogic 240-A may include a OPS chipset for receiving GPS satellitesignals and calculating a location based on the received signals. Inresponse to the activation signal, location monitoring logic 240-A mayacquire location monitoring signals from a satellite constellation 510(signal 3). Thereafter, location monitoring logic 240-A may calculatelocation information based on the received signals and transmit thelocation information to wireless logic 245-A (signal 4).

Once the location information has been transferred to wireless logic245-A, it may be relayed to activity manager 500 via a wireless signal(e.g., a cellular status or registration signal) transmitted to anantenna 520 (e.g., a cellular tower) (signal 5) and to a mobiletelephone switching office (MTSO) associated with the antenna 520(signal 6). MTSO 520 may then relay the location information to activitymanager 500 by any suitable means (signal 7). Exemplary means mayinclude a data network such as the Internet, an intranet or LAN, awireless data network, a cellular network, an analog telephony network(e.g., the public switch telephone network (PSTN)), etc.

In this way, a mobile device may passively receive an instruction toenable location monitoring and, subsequently, provide the generatedlocation information via a wireless communications protocol. Byefficiently enabling location tracking, devices and systems consistentwith principles of the invention may enable more accurate tracking ofusers for billing and safety purposes, as well as any other suitablepurpose. Using NFC or other short range wireless technologies eliminatesthe need to manually establish a location tracking session for eachuser.

CONCLUSION

Implementations consistent with the principles of the invention mayprovide a system for passively enabling location tracking on a mobiledevice.

The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of the inventionprovides illustration and description, but is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed.Modifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention.

For example, while the description above focused on using the NFCprotocol to send location tracking activation and deactivation signals,it will be appreciated that other wireless communication protocols couldalternatively be used to transmit the activation and deactivationsignals.

While series of acts have been described with regard to FIGS. 3-5, theorder of the acts may be modified in other implementations consistentwith the principles of the invention. Further, non-dependent acts may beperformed in parallel.

It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that aspects ofthe invention, as described above, may be implemented in many differentforms of software, firmware, and hardware in the implementationsillustrated in the figures. The actual software code or specializedcontrol hardware used to implement aspects consistent with theprinciples of the invention is not limiting of the invention. Thus, theoperation and behavior of the aspects were described without referenceto the specific software code—it being understood that one of ordinaryskill in the art would be able to design software and control hardwareto implement the aspects based on the description herein.

Further, certain portions of the invention may be implemented as “logic”that performs one or more functions. This logic may include hardware,such as an application specific integrated circuit or a fieldprogrammable gate array, software, or a combination of hardware andsoftware.

It should be emphasized that the term “comprises/comprising” when usedin this specification is taken to specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, or components, but does not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,components, or groups thereof.

No element, act, or instruction used in the present application shouldbe construed as critical or essential to the invention unless explicitlydescribed as such. Also, as used herein, the article “a” is intended toinclude one or more items. Where only one item is intended, the term“one” or similar language is used. Further, the phrase “based on” isintended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly statedotherwise.

1. A method, comprising: at a first mobile device, receiving a wireless location tracking activation signal from a separate second mobile device, where the wireless location tracking activation signal is transmitted from the second mobile device to the first mobile device using a near field communication (NFC) protocol; initiating location monitoring at the first mobile device based on the received wireless location tracking activation signal; periodically determining a geographic location of the first mobile device; and transmitting the geographic location of the first mobile device from the first mobile device though a network to a remote device that is separate from the first and second mobile devices, where the transmitting the geographic location to the remote device includes: including the geographic location in cellular radiotelephone registration signals; and periodically transmitting the cellular radiotelephone registration signals to an antenna associated with a cellular service provider.
 2. The method of claim 1, where the receiving includes: receiving the wireless location tracking activation signal via a passive wireless receiver; and where the initiating the location monitoring includes: drawing power from the wireless location tracking activation signal to transmit a signal from the passive wireless receiver to location monitoring logic of the first mobile device for initiating the location monitoring.
 3. The method of claim 1, where the periodically determining a geographic location includes: receiving global positioning satellite signals; and calculating the geographic location based on the received global positioning satellite signals.
 4. The method of claim 1, where the periodically determining a geographic location includes: receiving cellular radiotelephone location signals; and calculating the geographic location based on the received cellular radiotelephone location signals.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: storing the geographic location in a memory of the first mobile device; and transmitting the geographic location to the remote device from the memory of the first mobile device.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a wireless location tracking deactivation signal; and using power from the wireless location tracking deactivation signal to terminate the location monitoring.
 7. The method of claim 1, where the first mobile device comprises one of a laptop computer, a cellular telephone, or a personal digital assistant.
 8. The method of claim 1, where the first mobile device comprises at least one of an input device or an output device.
 9. The method of claim 1, where the second mobile device comprises at least one of a laptop computer, a cellular telephone, or a personal digital assistant.
 10. The method of claim 1, where the location tracking activation signal is sent from the second mobile device to the first mobile device in response to a user selection at the second mobile device.
 11. A mobile device comprising: a passive wireless receiver to: receive a first activation signal from another mobile device, transmit a second activation signal using power from the first activation signal, receive a first deactivation signal from the other mobile device, and transmit a second deactivation signal using power from the first deactivation signal; a geographic location device to: receive the second activation signal, periodically receive location monitoring signals from remote location monitoring devices in response to receiving the second activation signal, periodically calculate geographic location information based on the periodically received location monitoring signals, periodically transmit a geographic location information signal including the geographic location information, and cease calculating geographic location information upon receiving the second deactivation signal; and a wireless transceiver to: receive the geographic location information signal, establish a wireless connection with a remote device in response to receiving the geographic location information signal, and periodically transmit the geographic location information to the remote device via the wireless connection.
 12. The mobile device of claim 11, where the passive wireless transceiver receives the first activation signal via a near field communication (NFC) protocol.
 13. The mobile device of claim 11, where when transmitting the second activation signal, the passive wireless receiver is configured to: transmit the second activation signal via a bus.
 14. The mobile device of claim 11, where the mobile device includes a mobile telephone.
 15. The mobile device of claim 11, where the geographic location device consumes no power prior to receiving the second activation signal.
 16. A network device comprising: means for receiving a first location tracking activation signal from an external device using a near field communication (NFC) protocol; means for transmitting a second location tracking activation signal in response to receiving the first location tracking activation signal, the second location tracking activation signal causing location monitoring logic within the network device to power up, where power for transmitting the second location tracking activation signal is drawn from the first location tracking activation signal; means for periodically determining a geographic location of the network device upon power up of the location monitoring logic, where said means for determining the geographic location of the network device comprises means for storing location monitoring data; means for periodically transmitting the determined geographic location to a remote device; means for receiving a wireless location tracking deactivation signal; and means for using power from the wireless location tracking deactivation signal to terminate the location monitoring. 